Suspect in land scam from Kherson region fails to pay 6 million and is released

A suspect in the fraudulent acquisition of land in Kherson region has had his measure of restraint changed from custody to round-the-clock house arrest. The court took into account his social circumstances, the health of his parents and the absence of a risk of escape.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv.

This is a man suspected of organizing a fraudulent scheme to seize agricultural land with a total area of more than 307 hectares in the Beryslav district.

In collusion with a number of people, he used forged state land certificates, which allowed him to seize plots worth more than UAH 17 million. The suspect's actions are qualified under Part 4 of Art. 358 and Part 5 of Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - the use of forged documents and fraud on a large scale under martial law.

According to the investigation, several individuals organized a scheme to seize agricultural land by engaging front persons who were promised UAH 1,000 each for registering fictitious property rights. The land misappropriation scheme was organized by a 44-year-old employee of the State Geocadastre in Kherson region and a 43-year-old resident of Kherson, who were joined by a 48-year-old resident of Antonivka.

In May, the court granted investigators temporary access to bank documents in the case. According to the StateGeoCadastre, some of the plots registered to individuals were later divided into smaller ones. The preparation of the documentation was paid for in four payments of UAH 3,000 each.

Investigators were asked to provide data on the movement of funds in the relevant account, the bank account of its owner, as well as technical information - IP address, MAC address, IMEI, geolocation and camera footage that could have recorded the person making the payment.

The court preliminarily imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with an alternative of bail in excess of UAH 6 million. However, the bail was not paid in several months. The suspect's lawyer filed a motion with the court to mitigate the preventive measure.

The court granted the motion. Until July 17, 2025, the suspect will be under round-the-clock house arrest in Kherson and will have to fulfill a number of procedural obligations.

In April, an official of the Kherson State Geocadastre was notified of suspicion of fraud related to land fraud. So far, law enforcement officers have identified nine participants in the criminal scheme, five of whom have already received suspended sentences.

Анна Бальчінос